Something I've long avoided asking myself, because I already know the answer. And it's one I hate giving because it's really not so much an answer as it is an excuse. That big ol' "no time" excuse. Some people might consider it a reason and with few examples it could be - big life change, sudden illness, serious family issues. Those certainly are not excuses and certainly should be at the forefront. But right now there are no big life changes, no sudden illness and no serious family issues standing in my way. It's me standing in my way, because as twisted as it sounds I chose to let things be more important than my writing. It's all the stuff I feel I need to do that I just can't brush off aside, but stuff I'm not getting around to either. My Year of No Excuses is not starting off so well. Can't have that.

When you have not, you create. So in that vein I must create the time space I want in order to do my writing. A lot of writers advise (and rightly so) that scheduling time for writing helps you to buckle down and write. But for some (like me) it's incomplete advice. I can't just schedule writing time, I have to schedule time for the non-writing stuff I have to do. Maybe that makes me a little nuts, but for me writing these kinds of things out takes an enormous pressure off my mind and it's a lot easier to just relax and get things done. It's too easy to get caught up in the stress of life, and when you have downtime all you want to do is be down (as in relaxed, not depressed). Motivation is that elusive gift that you can't really define nor can you really give directions to; ultimately you have to go out and find it yourself. Once you know what motivation feels like for you, then nothing's impossible. You can always find it again, easily retrieve it and take on life.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some hunting to do...